Excessive eating and obesity were often identified as eating disorders caused by stress and anxiety. However, individuals with a serious food addiction have been known to have underlying issues more complex than others.
A. Taking care of a terminally ill parent is a very stressful, emotional situation, and stress has a different effect on someone with diabetes than it does on a healthy person. When you’re stressed out, your body produces cortisol, a hormone that can block the release of insulin and increase your blood sugar levels.
A. If your blood sugar levels are within their target range, it is OK to treat yourself to a glass of wine per day. Women should limit their alcohol consumption to one drink per day, while men should limit themselves to two drinks per day (one alcoholic drink = 5 ounces of wine, 1 1/2-ounces of liquor or a 12-ounce beer). Beyond this limit, alcohol can have detrimental effects:
A. When you buy a new glucometer, a specific diabetic test strip must be used to conduct your blood sugar test. These diabetic test strips are made by the same brand-name manufacturer as the blood glucose monitor, ensuring a perfect fit and precise test results. However, test strips made by the glucometer manufacturer may be expensive. That's why alternative diabetic test strips have cropped up, providing more options to those with diabetes.
A. One of the main advantages of using an insulin pump is improved control of blood glucose. Insulin pumps deliver a small amount of Regular insulin throughout the day, which helps avoid the swings between high and low blood sugar levels that can occur with insulin injections.
According to recent studies, it depends on when you’re testing. If you’re testing before meals when fasting or two hours or more after meals or exercise, the accuracy of alternate-site testing results are on par with those of fingertip test results.
Ketones are end-products of fat metabolism in the body. That is, they are formed when fat is burned for energy by the muscles. To burn it efficiently, you have to burn glucose at the same time. If you don’t have glucose available for fuel (because you are on a low-carbohydrate diet, for example), you will form ketones when your muscles burn fat.
A. If you have Type 1 diabetes and take multiple insulin injections, your doctor may recommend that you test your blood glucose four or more times a day: before each meal (and possibly after), at bedtime, and before and after exercise, since exercise lowers your blood sugar levels and can trigger hypoglycemia.
